Washington, Sep 12: In a major breakthrough on Friday, the US federal and local authorities announced that they have arrested the alleged shooter in the Charlie Kirk murder case.
The authorities have identified the attacker as 22-year-old Tyler Robinson from Utah, who was arrested in Washington County in the State, about 250 miles, or 400 km, away from the scene of the crime.
“We got him,” Utah Governor Spencer Cox said at a press conference, adding that they have gathered evidence which included messages on a social media app. The Governor also asserted that the suspect had become more political and was opposed to Charlie Kirk’s ideas. He added that the accused had spoken about the crime to a family member, prompting a family friend to alert the police.
According to him, Robinson is believed to have acted alone, with no additional arrests expected. Investigators have recovered bullet casings with multiple inscriptions, with one of them reading, “Hey fascist! catch!” FBI Director Kash Patel thanked the local and federal authorities and said that the suspect was arrested within 33 hours of the attack.
“Last night, the suspect was taken into custody at 10 pm local time,” Patel said. Earlier on Friday, President Donald Trump announced the arrest on Fox News, saying, “With a high degree of certainty, we have him in custody.”
He also blamed the left-wing extremism for the rising political violence in the country. “The radicals on the right oftentimes are radical because they don’t want to see crime. The radicals on the left are the problem, and they’re vicious and they are horrible and they’re politically savvy,” Trump added.
Kirk, who was 31 years old, was delivering remarks during a campus event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday when shots rang out, sparking panic among attendees. He was rushed to the hospital but succumbed to his injuries shortly after. Kirk was the founder of Turning Point USA (TPUSA), the country’s most prominent conservative student organisation and played an instrumental role in attracting young voters to elect Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential elections.
IANS